On 15 August, the Indian army foiled a major infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) inin Kashmir's Uri sector, killing five militants in the process.

"Alert troops noticed some suspicious movement along the Line of Control in Uri Sector in north Kashmir's Baramulla district this morning and challenged the intruders," an army official said.

He said the intruders opened firing towards the army positions which was retaliated by the soldiers. "Two militants were killed in the initial exchange of firing while three others were killed late in the day," the official said.

FIR registered against Amnesty International India over pro-Pakistan slogan at event

An FIR was registered against Amnesty International India on 15 August in connection with alleged raising of "independence" slogans by "pro-freedom" Kashmiris who entered into heated arguments with a Kashmiri Pandit leader for hailing Indian Army.

A police official involved in the investigation said that a First Information Report has been registered and investigations will proceed.

The FIR has been registered under IPC sections- 142 (being member of an unlawful assembly), 143 (whoever is a member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), he said.

A panel discussion on 13 August had turned chaotic as some "pro-freedom" Kashmiris, most of whom were youngsters and students, entered into heated arguments with a Kashmiri Pandit leader for hailing Indian Army.

The event was organised by Amnesty International India at United Theological College in Bengaluru. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara had on 14 August said that the intention and background of those involved will be investigated.

Pak Army chief approves death sentence to 11 Taliban militants convicted by special military court

Pakistan Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, on 16 August, approved the death sentences of 11 hardcore Taliban terrorists who were convicted by special military courts for their involvement in killing senior police and military officials and sectarian violence in the country.

They were awarded the death sentence by the special military courts which were set up following the Peshawar school attack of 16 December, 2014, to expedite punishments against people convicted under terror charges. A military spokesperson said all the accused were active members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and were involved in "heinous offences".

"Today the Chief of Army Staff confirmed death sentences awarded to another 11 hardcore terrorists, who were involved in committing heinous offences related to terrorism," said a statement issued by the army.

After Assam, Bihar passes GST bill; Jharkhand, Gujarat to ratify Bill in August

The Bihar Legislative Assembly passed the Goods and Services (GST) Bill in a special one-day session on 16 August, becoming the second state in the country to pass the Bill after Assam. As Bihar passes the Bill, it also became the first state with a non-BJP government to do so.

After the amended GST Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha and then the Lok Sabha, unanimously, the GST Bill needs to be ratified by at least 15 states or at least 50% of the states for it to become a law. The Bill will make India one 'common market place' and is also expected to bring great efficiency and transparency in the indirect tax system of the country, improving the economic growth.

Remaining Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth continued their Rio Olympics campaign as both comfortably cruised past their opponents to qualify for the quarterfinals.

PV Sindhu, a two-time World Championship bronze-medallist beat Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying in straights sets 21-13, 21-15 to advance to the women's singles quarterfinals. Srikanth had a slightly tougher opponent in world No. 5 Jan O Jorgensen, but came out relatively unscathed with a straight sets (21-19, 21-19) victory.

Coming into the match with a 1-2 head-to-head record, Srikanth dished out an aggressive performance to defeat Jorgensen 21-19, 21-19 in a 42-minute battle to keep himself in contention for a medal. He now joins Parupalli Kashyap as the only Indian men's singles players to reach the quaterfinals of the Olympics.

The 23-year-old Guntur lad, ranked 11th in the world, will next take on two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan - a shuttler he has beaten before - on Tuesday, 16 August.

In the women's singles, Sindhu, the 21-year-old from Hyderabad, outclassed eighth-seed Tai 21-13, 21-15 in a 40-minute pre-quarterfinals clash. She will next take on Wang Yihan of China.

Petrol gets cheaper by Rs 1/litre, diesel Rs 2

On 15 August, price of petrol cut by Rs 1 a litre and diesel by Rs 2 per litre, the fourth reduction in rates since July.

Petrol will now cost Rs 60.09 a litre in Delhi from midnight as compared to Rs 61.09 a litre currently, said Indian Oil Corp (IOC). The price of diesel will cost Rs 50.27 per litre as against Rs 52.27.

The price was last cut by Rs 1.42 a litre in case of petrol and by Rs 2.01 per litre for diesel on August 1.